Don't waste your time! Mediocre food at best, simply a grab…read morefor your wallet by a bunch of Dollar Store wannabes. And they have the nerve to charge $10 to walk down two blocks of Belmont St. for what?

This was a good fun festival for 2022. Admission is by an suggested donation amount. Plenty of…read moreburger stands, live music, and drinks. The earlier you get there, the less crowded it is. The lines started to get extremely long by 5-6ish. A few stands took cash or venmo as a form of payment. I tried three different burgers and was amazed by none of them.

Like most professional event organizers, Star Events has the connections and experience to help…read morestruggling volunteer-based organizations put on major events; they understand the industry and give the sense that, despite the chaos that ensues with any event behind the scenes, they have you covered. Unfortunately, Star Events has too many internal issues to list here; mainly, business "leaders" John and Michelle have a tendency to hire a mouthpiece (typically named Jessie) to serve as their "everything is fine" smokescreen while they figure out ways to tighten their grip on community events. This "Jessie" role turns over frequently, sometimes resorting to another, without this namesake, who is equally ineffective. The harsh truth is that events are unruly, and no matter the money you've paid an organizer, they never really have control. So, the management process becomes one of seeking power and glory; enter John and Michelle (this is when they normally get involved in the process) because their personal self-interest is Star Events priority. If you are a community-based organization seeking to improve your relationship with your community through your event, do not hire Star Events; your proceeds are going to interests outside your community with no vision from these "leaders" on how to make it a community-sustained event that grows engagement and philanthropy. If you are seeking relief from the stress of event planning, do not hire Star Events; your worries compound when they cut off contact because of internal turnover or make false promises based on "20,000 years of combined experience." Lastly, if you are seeking a good strategic partner, do not hire Star Events; they only want to use your event to take ownership of it and all the events in your community so the proceeds can all go to--you guessed it--John and Michelle. If you DO hire Star Events even after this warning, I wish you luck because you are in for the ride of your event-planning life!

Love the street festivals in the summer. My favorite are…read moreMidsommer fest and Retro on Rosco.

It was a beautiful day for an art fair. Located in the middle of a neighborhood there were over 100…read moreartists showcasing a variety of prints, jewelry, pottery, mixed media , woodworking and much more. There was a variety of food trucks, entertainment, a dog parade and and beer tent. It is a wonderful event to enjoy time outside . It is different than many art fairs because it it very neighborhood focused.

For starters, I love art festivals. I have never been to this fest, and one of my favorite artists…read morewas going to be in attendance so I had to make my stop and I don't regret it. So much to pick from and see. I covered most of the artists area, the volunteers I encountered during my visit made it a even better experience. Thank you Bucktown Arts Festival, till we meet again.

We went to the Bucktown Art Festival on Saturday, August 23. This art festival has been around for…read moreover 30 years! Of course, it was an ugly gray and gloomy day in Chicago with hard rain coming down from time to time. A typical muggy and uncomfortable summer day, but this did not stop us from checking out the Bucktown Art Festival. There were over 275 Artists, Photographers, Pottery Makers, Jewelry Artisans, Arts & Craft artists displaying their pieces at this huge art festival. It had been years since we had been to this art festival, and now I know why. The Art Festival itself is a very, very large event. It is truly an inspirational event. Due to how large it has become over the years one day is not enough to see all of the exhibits at this art festival. Also, the vibe has definitely changed. The Artists and/or Artisans used to be so much more welcoming and/or friendly. Not anymore. Since it was a rainy, gray and gloomy day, some of the tents were zipped up while a few artists had packed up and closed up shop all together. There were several vendors selling food, but we didn't grab a bite here. The musicians were fantastic and we stood holding our umbrellas listening to the music for a while, because the band was incredibly outstanding (wish I knew the name of the band but I cannot recall). At any rate, we enjoyed walking around and viewing all the interesting, creative pieces of art despite the crappy rainy day. I am a fan of the Bucktown Art Festival. I appreciate when an Artist puts up a short bio of his or her background and his or her art pieces. I like to read about their background and where they received their education and/or training. They should make it mandatory and request that each Artist display a short bio, however, I only saw two short biographies posted. I was a bit disappointed. I asked a few questions, because I was interested in learning more about specific pieces of art that I really, really liked and was seriously considering purchasing. However, these Artists didn't seem to want to be bothered with questions. When I entered the tent to view the pieces that I was interested in purchasing I didn't receive a "Hello" or "Hi, how are you today?" In fact, there was minimal interaction and eye contact, which I thought was weird. Nevertheless, we dodged huge puddles of water, and saw lots of mud in the park area where additional artists were displaying their pieces. It was nice to get out on a Saturday afternoon and walk around for about 2-hours. After a while, we worked up an appetite and headed over to Palador on Western Avenue for some fantastic Cuban cuisine. That was really the highlight of our afternoon. I recommend this art festival to people seeking to invest in some serious art pieces. Everything that I really, really liked was over $1,000 or higher. I went to the Bucktown Art Festival with the intention of making a purchase. I like to think of art as an "investment" and not a "luxury" item. Yeah, we are the people with disposable income, and no kids so we have money to invest in art as well as antique pieces. In the end, we didn't make one single purchase. The unfriendly and disinterested vibe that I got from these Artists was the reason I didn't make that $2,000 purchase.

I believe this is the festival's fifth yr per the website. There is no doubt there is an incredible…read moreselection of all types of dumplings available for purchase. Examples include empanadas, pork sticklers, and perogi, so you get representation from all countries/cultures. We went about an hour into opening time & it ran 30 minutes to an hour just to queue to buy tickets to exchange for food and to purchase food. So a combined wait for an hour for a start is just too much... Tip: Buy what you can upfront, get there before the festival opens.